Has Maynard James Keenan Begun Writing Vocal Parts for Tool’s Fifth Full-Length Album?

Tool fans are more rabid than ever for a new album. The brilliant act released '10,000 Days' in 2006, but ever since, there has been a brutal drought of Tool material. Rumblings of writing sessions have been widely covered, but in each update, vocalist Maynard James Keenan had not yet entered into the band's writing process. However, it seems like that may have changed.

During an edition of comedian Marc Maron's WTF Podcast, Keenan actually sat in to discuss a multitude of topics, namely comedy. However, when asked about upcoming Tool material, Keenan offered a refreshing response.

"I'm gonna stop by the rehearsal space today," Keenan begins, "in theory, having beaten them up going, 'Please give me music, please give me music, please give me music, please give me music.' I theory, they have a CD for me today. They're like, 'Look, listen to some jams so we can get this thing going.'"

Keenan continues to explain his lyrical process, stating that he's unable to write lyrics without any instrumental structure available. "I can't write words 'til I hear the sounds, and I haven't heard the sounds … I've gotta listen to the sounds and go from the sounds."

Here's the kicker: Although Marc Maron's podcast was released on Aug. 18, the comic's interview was apparently recorded in March of this year. At the 28:56 mark, Keenan shares that he'll be turning 49 "next month." Maynard turned 49 on April 17, so this new information births a ton of new questions. Did Keenan pick up a CD of new Tool material all the way back in March? How long has Maynard been writing lyrics for Tool's fifth studio album? Why hasn't any member of Tool shared information about Keenan possibly, finally opening his third eye?

In July, during an exclusive interview with Tool drummer Danny Carey, the masterful percussionist told us that Keenan had not yet begun work on the band's upcoming album. “It’s still the three of us right now and four of us it will be soon, you know, just working on all our parts and working on our compositions together,” says Carey.

Once again, the status of Tool's fifth album is up in the air, and the mysterious quartet have yet to confirm that Maynard James Keenan has finally put pen to paper. Stay tuned for further updates as news breaks.